4 ms·

Here's the kicker, I hate to say it, but they probably didn't notice you left. That's the thing about places like that.

fatneckbeard 4y ago
yeup. and realizing that is the only way to stay sane. nobody will care if you leave, nobody cared about the last person that left, they have other priorities and software engineering is not one of them. if its that much of a problem, their business will fail and some other business that does care will take over their market. but that might take decades because software engineering isn't actually core to a lot of business activity. youd be amazed at how bad some software is for major companies, and yet they are very profitable. you only have control over yourself not other people.
- maleko48 4y ago
  my company's primary app/digital portal that is meant to eventually replace the bulk of phone center operations requirements is hilariously bad after years of development. I used to tell the app team daily everything that was wrong with it in great detail from a usability standpoint of both our internal operations and our external customers but they just took the chat tool down, lol. they've been slowwwwly adding new functionality before the core functions are fully baked and actually useful which is just crazy to me. if it weren't for top management pushing our sales teams to push our customers to use the platform, 98% of our customers would prefer to just pick up the phone and call us anyways. (this is the concrete industry, so not exactly tech forward)
yarg 4y ago
I was the main developer on the single most critical deployment tool in the company. My departure would've been less than ideal. Either way, the company's haemorrhaged talent (now including long term CEO and long term CTO) and the stock price has plummeted since I left. (In no way am I crediting myself for this; at best I was a canary in the coal mine - but I take my solace in schadenfreude.)
- ngc248 4y ago
  I have been in places like the one you talked about. I also almost had a breakdown because I used to care too much. After that I had an epiphany, now I only care if others care. Its good for my mental health.
- leeoniya 4y ago
  > and the stock price has plummeted since I left. that describes pretty much every tech company in the past 18 months ;)
  - stirfish 4y ago
    yarg was holding together pretty much every tech company.
    - yarg 4y ago
      I do wonder at the extent to which I am the manifestation of a charicature of the burnt-out developer.
    - jvm___ 4y ago
      Yarg owned left-pad.
- wonderwonder 4y ago
  Software companies with sufficient market share take on an almost zombie like quality. No matter how much damage they take internally they are able to continue lurching forward and making money because there is no one else in the space that is a viable option or they have their customers locked into expensive contracts. I worked at one such company for a few years. It was terrible. The software was garbage and management was truly awful. We were required to hit 10 ticket points each week or pipped. The only way to do so was to work 60+ hours. I got pipped for the first time (~18 months in) when during the first month of covid lockdowns I got 8 instead of the required 10 points. They literally could not understand how I might have distractions going on due to a brand new pandemic, my kids and wife suddenly being home and lockdown. Whatever decision you made they yelled at you. I got yelled at once for not lying to a government official. When I quit, every sr. developer quit within 3 months of me; 7 total left and left behind 6 non sr. devs. This was 3 years ago. The company is hemorrhaging money but just keeps issuing more stock to stay afloat. It used the money from that stock to buy its competition in a very niche market and essentially just put them out of business. So they survive and lurch on.
le-mark 4y ago
GP learned a valuable lesson; it’s just a job. Don’t tie your identity to your code.
taneq 4y ago
Bold of you to assume that anyone else there has the necessary knowledge to take on their role. I was in a similar situation once, I spent months telling management that I was the only one keeping them afloat technically and that it was a critical risk to the business. They responded by trying to pressure me into unlimited unpaid travel and overtime. I left and they fared poorly.

yeup. and realizing that is the only way to stay sane. nobody will care if you leave, nobody cared about the last person that left, they have other priorities and software engineering is not one of them. if its that much of a problem, their business will fail and some other business that does care will take over their market. but that might take decades because software engineering isn't actually core to a lot of business activity. youd be amazed at how bad some software is for major companies, and yet they are very profitable. you only have control over yourself not other people.

maleko48 4y ago
my company's primary app/digital portal that is meant to eventually replace the bulk of phone center operations requirements is hilariously bad after years of development. I used to tell the app team daily everything that was wrong with it in great detail from a usability standpoint of both our internal operations and our external customers but they just took the chat tool down, lol. they've been slowwwwly adding new functionality before the core functions are fully baked and actually useful which is just crazy to me. if it weren't for top management pushing our sales teams to push our customers to use the platform, 98% of our customers would prefer to just pick up the phone and call us anyways. (this is the concrete industry, so not exactly tech forward)

yarg 4y ago

I was the main developer on the single most critical deployment tool in the company. My departure would've been less than ideal. Either way, the company's haemorrhaged talent (now including long term CEO and long term CTO) and the stock price has plummeted since I left. (In no way am I crediting myself for this; at best I was a canary in the coal mine - but I take my solace in schadenfreude.)

ngc248 4y ago
I have been in places like the one you talked about. I also almost had a breakdown because I used to care too much. After that I had an epiphany, now I only care if others care. Its good for my mental health.
leeoniya 4y ago
> and the stock price has plummeted since I left. that describes pretty much every tech company in the past 18 months ;)
- stirfish 4y ago
  yarg was holding together pretty much every tech company.
  - yarg 4y ago
    I do wonder at the extent to which I am the manifestation of a charicature of the burnt-out developer.
  - jvm___ 4y ago
    Yarg owned left-pad.
wonderwonder 4y ago
Software companies with sufficient market share take on an almost zombie like quality. No matter how much damage they take internally they are able to continue lurching forward and making money because there is no one else in the space that is a viable option or they have their customers locked into expensive contracts. I worked at one such company for a few years. It was terrible. The software was garbage and management was truly awful. We were required to hit 10 ticket points each week or pipped. The only way to do so was to work 60+ hours. I got pipped for the first time (~18 months in) when during the first month of covid lockdowns I got 8 instead of the required 10 points. They literally could not understand how I might have distractions going on due to a brand new pandemic, my kids and wife suddenly being home and lockdown. Whatever decision you made they yelled at you. I got yelled at once for not lying to a government official. When I quit, every sr. developer quit within 3 months of me; 7 total left and left behind 6 non sr. devs. This was 3 years ago. The company is hemorrhaging money but just keeps issuing more stock to stay afloat. It used the money from that stock to buy its competition in a very niche market and essentially just put them out of business. So they survive and lurch on.

le-mark 4y ago

GP learned a valuable lesson; it’s just a job. Don’t tie your identity to your code.

taneq 4y ago

Bold of you to assume that anyone else there has the necessary knowledge to take on their role. I was in a similar situation once, I spent months telling management that I was the only one keeping them afloat technically and that it was a critical risk to the business. They responded by trying to pressure me into unlimited unpaid travel and overtime. I left and they fared poorly.